Alleged terror plot foiled

[Gob]

Four men have been arrested in London as part of an investigation into Islamist-related terrorism, Scotland Yard has said.

Whitehall officials told the BBC the arrests "may have foiled the early stages" of a plan to attack the UK.

The four men, aged 20 and 21, were arrested on suspicion of being involved in the commission, preparation or instigation of terrorism.

Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said it was a "quite serious case".

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said Whitehall officials were unable to comment on the nature of the potential plot they say may have been foiled.

Officials said the investigation was in its early stages and interviews and searches were ongoing, our correspondent added.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29519757

[Scooter]

"May have foiled the early stages" - well, that certainly is a definitive statement of what the accused were allegedly doing. That sure convinces me of their guilt.

[Joe Guy]

I need a lifeline on this one. Can I call Meade?

Is this correct English? ---

The four men, aged 20 and 21, were arrested on suspicion of being involved in the commission, preparation or instigation of terrorism.

Or is it correct British?

[wesw]

sounds right to me.... but my reading isn t so good.

[Scooter]

There is nothing incorrect about it, although the subordinate construction with a compound object of a preposition which is then modified by a prepositional phrase does make it wordy and difficult to wrap one's head around.

[wesw]

hey we agree! except I didn t bother being wordy and fatuous

[rubato]

hey we agree! except I didn t bother being wordy and fatuous

You amazed us all and stopped at fatuous. Good for you.


yours,
rubato

[Long Run]

A young Muslim just got sentenced to 30 years here for trying to blow up several thousand people at a tree lighting a few years back. He literally pushed the button on a fake bomb. So, do we go all the way down the commission/entrapment route before stopping the wanna-be murderers, or is it okay to stop them early on?

[Lord Jim]

The four men, aged 20 and 21

How is it possible for anyone to be both 20 and 21 years of age ?

[Joe Guy]

The four men, aged 20 and 21

How is it possible for anyone to be both 20 and 21 years of age ?

A person's comprehension of the sentence depends highly on an implied understanding of the compounded subordinate prepositional modifier.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Whitehall officials told the BBC the arrests "may have foiled the early stages" of a plan to attack the UK.

Anybody for whom English is a first language would understand that the arrests may NOT have foiled a plot. Even if these four persons are conspirators, the arrests may not prevent others (if any) from continuing with the plan. The police are conducting further investigations partly in order to discover if other people are involved.

That being said, the entire article is written so poorly that the author should be arrested in order to perhaps foil the early stages of sloppy reportage and the use of big words while under age.

[wesw]

lol joe